title: Posterior cingulate cortex mediates outcome-contingent allocation of behavior.
abstract: Adaptive decision making requires selecting an action and then monitoring its consequences to improve future decisions. The neuronal mechanisms supporting action evaluation and subsequent behavioral modification, however, remain poorly understood. To investigate the contribution of posterior cingulate cortex (CGp) to these processes, we recorded activity of single neurons in monkeys performing a gambling task in which the reward outcome of each choice strongly influenced subsequent choices. We found that CGp neurons signaled reward outcomes in a nonlinear fashion and that outcome-contingent modulations in firing rate persisted into subsequent trials. Moreover, firing rate on any one trial predicted switching to the alternative option on the next trial. Finally, microstimulation in CGp following risky choices promoted a preference reversal for the safe option on the following trial. Collectively, these results demonstrate that CGp directly contributes to the evaluative processes that support dynamic changes in decision making in volatile environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine and Center for Neuroeconomic Studies, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA. hayden@neuro.duke.edu
authors.forename: Benjamin Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Hayden
authors.forename: Amrita C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: Allison N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Platt
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology*; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology